LOST for over three decades, a city bus driven around Southampton in the 1960s and 70s has been found abroad - with a family living inside. The last known local sighting of the 344 double-decker bus, manufactured by company AEC, was in 1990 when it was exported to Italy. 344 at the Cenotaph in Southampton in the early 1970s. Photo credit: Southampton Transport Trust Facebook Since then, the bus’ whereabouts were unknown and it was assumed scrapped. That is until recently, when a local heritage group made contact with the Marino family living the city of Lodi in northern Italy. The family - which include dad Roberto, 51, mum Silvia and daughters Martina, 20, and ten-year-old Mayla live on the vehicle, after converting it to well-equipped static home.
ONCE the White Star Dock had opened in 1911, ocean travel between Southampton and North America increased rapidly with Cunard transferring their North Atlantic operations from Liverpool to Southampton. Added to this, German and French transatlantic liners included Southampton as a stop on their sailings from Hamburg and Le Havre for the Americas. The liners became increasingly larger in size and the already lengthened Trafalgar dry dock could not accommodate many of them for repairs. The London and South Western Railway who owned the docks placed an order, on October 13, 1922, for a large floating dry dock with Armstrong and Whitworth of Newcastle upon Tyne, to be delivered ten months later.
We grow up and at some time or other we may marry. We may have children, we may build a house. At some time we wish to change our life, a better job, an appropriate car, changes to the house. We enjoy going on holiday, some of us partake in travelling through our own country, maybe going to hotels or camp sites others like to see the world travelling to foreign countries. Depending whereto we may need to fly. Aircraft have been changing over the last 60 or 70 years, but these aircraft require airports, and airports require extensions to accept certain types of aircraft.